Paging Doctor Jones
by Clockwork Spades
Summary: Many things have happened over the years at King's Atlantic Hospital, most infamously the relationship between two certain young doctors. Though between learning and working, no one has had an easy time. Rating may go up.
1. Chapter 1

_13th December 20X4_

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><p>"I'm <em>dying.<em>"  
>"You're not dying."<p>

Matthew's voice gave away just how disinterested he was. Maybe that was because he was an uncaring, failure of a brother, or maybe it was because he was fed up of hearing the same, regurgitated speech that he'd heard in varying forms every night for the past two weeks. Alfred would have argued he was being unfair, but anyone having to listen to the uninterrupted pining even just for one evening would quickly give in too.

"I might as well be." Alfred huffed, pressing his face into the cushion only to whine loud enough to completely negate the point of having it there. He was face down on the sofa, a worn and beaten fabric thing that he and his half-brother had dragged across the continent twice between university and internship – and it had seen its fair share of Alfred's tantrums. Matthew, meanwhile, was stood in their kitchen, attention split three ways between making their dinner – as apparently Alfred was in too dire of a state to cook – his ridiculous brother and a medical textbook. "He's sex on legs, Matt, he's literally sex on legs." He groaned, rolling over onto his back. "…I hope you're looking up a cure for stupid, unrequited crushes in that book."

"Of course I am, chapter 3: Diseases of the heart, really stupid crushes that your brother will bug you with when you could be studying." He ignored the glare he got, by now able to picture the exact amount Alfred's lower lip jutted out under his top and the exact width of his puffed-up cheeks. It hadn't changed since they were three. "It says here the first step is to stop being a giant baby." He did turn then, though in doing so was met full in the face with the cushion the American had until now been using to hide his face in. Matthew only laughed, picking the pillow up as his baby brother stomped over to turn his glare full force on the other.

Alfred hadn't been like this when he first started his internship, but maybe that was because they had a different head of cardio when he got there. He'd gotten into the course no problem, he'd been valedictorian in his graduation from med school and he was one of the most promising interns they had – and if his elder brother's success in the same hospital was anything to go by then he definitely had nothing to worry about. But that had been the first five months, the first five months where he'd been flitting about on different people's services, learning about different specialities and competing in a friendly way with the other interns.

And then their head of cardio had to be replaced.

It had been a normal day, waking up at five and driving in for pre-rounds with Matthew, though they'd been careful to make sure Alfred was in a group of interns not assigned to his elder brother. Though that had been an hour ago, it was now time for what Doctor Hedervary liked to call 'Question time', a friendly name for a game in which their scary resident would have no problem kicking her interns to The Pit for getting one question wrong.

"Uhh…Hairy cell leukaemia?"  
>"Is that a question or an answer, Jones?" Dr. Hedevary ties her hair up as she asks, a perfectly sculpted eyebrow raising in demand for another answer.<p>

"Uh- I mean, answer. Hairy cell leukaemia." He's shaking a little, either from the lack of sleep or nerves because he really, _really _doesn't want to be assigned to The Pit two days in a row. He got yelled at last time and dropped a packet of blood – not a good move for his reputation.

"Congratulations, Jones, you got every question right." Alfred visibly relaxes, having been terrified he was going to be sent down with the other three interns that had been sent. "Okay, Vargas, Smith, with me. Jones, I want you to go to room 207, I was asked to send an intern there and you're the one today." They go their different ways, Alfred flicking through the chart Hedervary had given him.

The patient is twenty two, already had one heart transplant but this one had failed and they need a new one – fast. He reviews the information quickly as he makes his way to the room, a little nervous about what he's expected to do and whose service he's supposed to be on; He's only worked with one cardio surgeon in the hospital before, he was old and cranky and he seemed to have a personal vendetta for Alfred from the get-go, he did not want to repeat that.

The door is open as he approaches and when he levels with the room he finds a slim, blond and rather young looking doctor in place of the old, rounding and balding man he'd been expecting, though he was looking at the man from behind. The doctor in question is talking to the patient, a weary looking young woman who still seems to be managing to smile despite her situation. Alfred clears his throat, stepping into the room with the chart in hand. If only he knew.

The blond man turns, one eyebrow raising as his gaze lands on the American intern, and god Alfred could swear his heart skipped a beat. He is young, though clearly older than Alfred himself of course and dressed in the navy scrubs of an attending, dark eyebrows over piercing green eyes that stare right into Alfred's own, seeming to say '_And just who are you—'_. No wait, they are saying that.

"Who are you, exactly?" Lord and he has an accent. "—Excuse me?" Those piercing eyes turn impatient and Alfred quickly realises he's been staring in silence for a good few moments.

"Uhh—" He shakes his head, stepping into the room quickly with his hand outstretched. "I'm Alfred Jones, the uh, Doctor Hedervary sent me here she said you needed an intern to kiss—assist you." Well that couldn't have gone any better.

The eyebrow remains raised, ignoring the outstretched hand and instead taking the chart from the dumbstruck American's hand. "I asked for a competent intern, the best there was if it were possible, are you sure you're in the right place?"

There's a brief moment when Alfred feels pride swell in his chest from being referred to as 'the best', which must be true since Doctor Hedevary never messes about with these sorts of things, but it's quickly crushed as the doctor finishes his sentence. "I—Yes, I am. I'm sorry, sir, I wasn't expecting- I didn't know what I was sent here for." The Englishman's gaze flickers away from him, scanning the chart with a quiet 'hm', hard to tell if directed at Alfred or the papers in his hand.

"Well, doctor Jones, what can you tell me about our patient here?"

"Miss Johnson came into the ER five years ago…"

It was only later that Alfred found out the name of the surgeon he was working with; Arthur Kirkland, the new head of Cardiothoracics – ironically fitting as he proceeded to take up all the space in Alfred's heart in pining for those glaring green eyes. It only took one smile to finally grace those ever-frowning lips of the English surgeon and he was hooked.

"It's not funny!"  
>"Oh, now that's where you're wrong, it's <em>very <em>funny."  
>Alfred snatched the cushion back from his brother, childish glare still in place and accompanied with a huff as he hopped up on the counter. "You weren't this mean when I was in med school!"<br>"You didn't have a giant crush on an attending in med school." Matthew grinned, obviously very pleased with himself. "Everyone else thinks it's funny."  
>"What do you mean 'everyone else'?" Alfred's expression turned from angry to horrified, eyes widening. "No one else knows about this but you, don't they?"<br>"I mean 'everyone else', stupid. Of course they know, the only person who hasn't noticed you mooning over your precious Arthur 'sex-on-legs' Kirkland is Arthur 'sex-on-legs' Kirkland." Alfred groaned again, a mixture of embarrassment, anger and frustration fuelling the intern's sound.  
>"…You're not going to tell anyone I called him that, are you?"<br>"What kind of a brother would I be if I didn't?"

Alfred jumped off the counter, hitting his brother with the cushion once more before stomping out of their kitchenette and towards the door of his bedroom. "I hate you." He threw the couch cushion back onto the sofa as he went, making sure to slam the door behind him.

"Okay, just try to keep your fantasies about Doctor Kirkland in your room please, the apartment's not soundproofed." There was a faint 'oh my god Matthew' from the other side of Alfred's door, which only made the resident laugh because it proved his point far too well. Teasing his baby brother was much more fun than listening to him pining.

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><p><em>So that's that.<em>

_Quick reference for you:_  
><em>Alfred: Intern, 24<em>  
><em>Matthew: Second-year Resident, 26<em>  
><em>Elizaveta: Fourth-year Resident, 28<em>  
><em>(The briefly mentioned) Lovina (Yes Lovin<em>a_): Intern, 24_  
><em>Arthur: Attending, 32<em>

_I'm going by what I know of the British medical system, but the story is based in America and if that's different please correct me._  
><em>I also don't actually have any medical knowledge, or not much, so if you do and notice any discrepancies, again, correct me. <em>

_More characters will be introduced as the story progresses. Drabbles should be added in a relatively chronological order, but if I feel like it I might add in something from earlier or later, such as looking at people's back stories. _

_This is also very loosely based on Grey's Anatomy in the sense of hospital interactions, and you might notice parallels, though I won't intentionally take plotlines from the show._

_So yeah. Thanks!_


	2. Chapter 2

_10th March 20X5_

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><p>The Chief's office wasn't exactly an ideal place to eat lunch, but it was the only place Arthur could snack and get work done without being interrupted. Besides the occasional cutting comment from their beloved chief himself, but it wasn't as if Arthur couldn't easily deal with his own lifelong friend. However, today the man in question was oddly quiet, which until now Arthur had put down to the fact that the Frenchman seemed just as absorbed in his paperwork as Arthur was in his.<p>

"He's cute, isn't he?"

Arthur's eyes didn't leave the paper, eyebrows creasing a way that implied confusion despite the fact they both knew perfectly well that he knew what Francis was talking about. "What?" He mumbled around his sandwich, both to annoy his friend and to help make it sound as if he honestly hadn't been glancing out of the office window into the courtyard every five minutes.

Francis only sighed, cracking his back in a long stretch before he even thought about speaking again. "Now now, Arthur, don't play dumb with me." He got up from his chair, giving Arthur the horrible sense of dread that his French friend was about to do something, though he only wandered over to his bookcase. "We know each other far too well to act like the other doesn't know when we're lying. So," He began again, turning to face Arthur with an expectant gleam in his eye. "He's cute. _Isn't he_?"

Arthur looked up from his work, doing his best to maintain that aloof and confused expression even though Francis' words had been _entirely _true. "—I really don't know what you're talking about."  
>"<em>Oh<em>, _casse-toi! Arthur Charles Kirkland _–"  
>"<em>Pardonne moi?" <em>Arthur blinked innocently, always entertained when he could make his best friend swear in his own language, despite the current reason for it.  
>Francis' eyes narrowed. "<em>Ta gueule.<em>"

Arthur laughed despite himself, turning back to his charts under the foolish assumption that he had successfully diverted the Chief's attention. Very foolish indeed.

Francis' hand slammed down on the paper he was examining, startling the unsuspecting Englishman out of his delusion of safety. "Arthur Kirkland I know you lie to yourself about everything you do every moment of the day but I thought you would at least not lie to me— Nevermind, I take that back." He added quickly, weary of Arthur's opening mouth to protest. "My point is, you know exactly who I'm talking about and you're going to admit it." Arthur straightened up in his chair, no longer sure he could sweet-talk his way out of this. He cleared his throat, fiddling with the pen in his hand. Francis straightened up too, leaning back on his desk with his arms crossing over his chest. He waited a few, long moments of silence before speaking again. "…Or you could tell me what happened in Londo—"

"Okay!" Arthur cut in hurriedly, glaring at the Frenchman, but he was far more unwilling to tell that story than he was to admit he was attracted to a man eight years younger than he was. "…Alfred Jones is cute." Francis stayed quiet, content but still looking at Arthur with an eyebrow raised. "—More than cute. He's handsome. He's hot. He's sexy and yes I've thought about what it would be like to be dragged into an empty on-call room by him, but you can't judge me for that because you've done the exact same thing with half the staff and you didn't even have the decency to lust after them for a few months." He finished his little rant with a huff, kicking the desk by accident as he angrily crossed his legs.

Still, Francis remained quiet, though his lower lip drew between his teeth with attempts to hold back laughter as his English friend sat there red-faced and glowering at the floor . "My my, Doctor Kirkland," He began, breathless with the effort of holding in his mocking chuckles. "I didn't realise that _lusting _was quite what you wer-"

"Oh, piss off!" Arthur snapped, standing up and grabbing his charts before storming out of the office.

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><p><em>Another one for a brief view of Arthur's perspective. The actual details of Arthur's infatuation may or may not come later.<br>__Please don't expect updates as early as this, I'm just getting into things and I know it won't continue to be a chapter a day. Sorry!_

_Characters:  
>Arthur: Attending, 32<br>Francis: Chief of Surgery, 36 (His speciality is OB GYN)_

_And if you're wondering, yes, Arthur is fluent in French.  
><em>


	3. Chapter 3

_15th December 20X4_

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><p>If you ask a person how they feel about hospitals, you're more than likely to get a negative answer. More people associate hospitals with pain, suffering and unfortunately death rather than the thousands of lives they actually save each year. It's not that much different for the staff, no matter what their specific job is they all see the suffering. The interns don't yet. The interns are fresh and shiny and new and have more than likely never lost a patient, not to mention the fact that they were arguably under more pressure than the rest of the hospital for that exact reason. They were babies, newbies, qualified doctors that were still learning and more often than not stuck with scrub work from higher up doctors who didn't want to do it themselves – or a nurse they had managed to get on the wrong side of.<p>

That was perhaps the binding force for the interns. Though some got far too competitive and there were genuine rivalries, for the large part, they got along. Which was what they were doing today, getting along, sitting in the intern room on their lunch break and quizzing each other from medical textbooks. They took turns being in the 'hot seat' (Which was just a more relaxed copy of Doctor Hedevery's 'Question Time'), though nobody could be bothered to move from where they were already sat. It was light hearted, they only had about forty minutes if they pushed it and Alfred had convinced them all that they should always be learning – and no one had the heart to disagree with that smile.

"Mkay, your pashent presence—" Lovina began, speaking around her fork as she tied her hair up (for the fifth time) before she removed the utensil from her mouth. "_Presents_, with a history of rheumatoid arthritis, and they're old as balls. They're diagnosed having anaemia of chronic disease. What is the predominant thing that causes this type of disease in people with chronic inflammatory conditions?"

"Uhh—" Alfred started, but by then he was just showing off. "Impaired transfer of reticuloendothelial storage iron to marrow erythroid precursors." He grinned as he took another bite of his sandwich, practically wiggling in his seat on the bench out of pride. Though the other interns would've called it an inflated ego.

Lovina tisked and threw her textbook down. "It's not fair, you're cheating, you have a photographic memory."

"It's not my fault!" Alfred's smile didn't fade, of course, entirely pleased with himself for having gotten every question right. Of course, he had a bit of a reputation among the staff now for being a walking encyclopaedia, so for every question out of the textbook, he could picture the paragraph it was taken from. "You're just jealous."

The Italian scoffed, muttering a 'yeah right' under her breath, but there was no more of a complaint as their more placid companion cut in. "Please, Lovina, you know provoking him when his ego is inflated will not help him shut up." Lovina burst out laughing, half for Kiku's comment and half for the wounded look on Alfred's face.

"Kiku! I'm hurt!"  
>"Oh, you're hurt by everything, <em>bambino<em>." Lovina rolled her eyes, successfully avoiding the minimal wrath of Alfred's childish glare.  
>"Lovina, Alfred doesn't like it when you call him that. His ego is bruised very easily too—"<br>"_Kiku_!" Alfred protested again, though Lovina was just as entertained. Everyone thought Kiku was such a saint, he was quiet and reserved and answered every question to the best of his ability, even if he was wrong, but he was so polite that none of the residents had the heart to yell at him when he did. But the interns knew the truth. "You and my brother should hang out some time, you're both asses to me and nice to everyone else."

Kiku laughed too, though his laugh was a much quieter and more restrained sound, most of the mirth was in his small smile and shining eyes. He was well acquainted with Alfred's brother, actually, he'd spent plenty of evenings at their apartment and even one or two thanksgivings with their family – his family didn't celebrate it, despite living in America his whole life, but since he'd been Alfred's roommate at university, it was hard to refuse to join him. Not to mention the fact that now they were on this internship, Kiku was one of the interns assigned to Alfred's older brother.

"Oh don't worry, Kiku, _bambino_ is just upset with me because I'm on Doctor Kirkland's service and he's not." Lovina's wicked smile was there again, fork pointed accusingly at the younger intern. She got the desired reaction, of course, Alfred's cheeks reddened quickly at the suggestion that he was _jealous _when he certainly was not! Not one bit! Why would he be jealous? Just because Lovina got to spend all day with Doctor Kirkland and see him work and see that little smile he gave to the patients and how cool he was under pressure and yes Alfred was totally jealous. But he wasn't a cardio specialist, Lovina was, and she respected the Doctor just as much as Alfred loved staring at him. "Don't argue with me, Alfred Jones, we all know it's true."

Alfred groaned, hiding his face in his textbook for a good few minutes while the other interns laughed. "You're all as bad as Matt."  
>"Oh, I like Matthew, he's a very good teacher." Kiku piped up again, perfectly aware that he was just riling Alfred up.<br>"Of course you do." The American muttered, straightening up and putting his textbook to one side before taking off his glasses to polish them.  
>Lovina shook her head, standing up to go to her locker and put her things away. "I'm not judging you, Kirkland isn't my type but he is a hot piece of ass." She shrugged, huffing and frowning at her reflection in the mirror.<br>"I think you mean he _has _a hot piece of ass." Alfred cut in again, still embarrassed but always eager to gush about the English doctor.  
>"He's gonna catch you staring at it one day, then you'll be in trouble."<br>"It's not my fault. He just looks so good. No one's ass looks good in scrubs, he's some sort of demi god or something." He replaced his glasses on the bridge of his nose again, though his eyes were obviously off somewhere else. "—Right, Kiku?" He looked expectantly over to his friend, though that was a form of revenge, knowing perfectly well that Kiku was one to get flustered over these things. Which, true to form, was exactly what he did.  
>"I—Uh- Well I have not…looked I don't- I assume he must be-"<p>

"Alfred, if you're done torturing the other interns over Doctor Kirkland's ass then maybe you can stop objectifying the head of cardio and let them get back to work." Matthew had appeared at the door with charts in hand, an unimpressed look on his face directed straight at his brother as the rest of the interns tried to restrain their laughter. Even if Matthew was laughing too internally, none of them wanted to look unprofessional in front of the resident. Kiku himself blushed and scrambled to his feet, along with the few other interns who were assigned to Matthew, though his face wasn't at all as red as Alfred's was. "Thanks." Matthew disappeared behind the door again followed by his interns, leaving everyone else in the room to let out their restrained laughter as the door shut behind him.

"Ooh, _bambino,_" Lovina smirked, wandering over to pat Alfred on the shoulder before pulling him up out of his seat. "You are going to be hearing about that later. Come on, we have more work to do too, I'll buy your gay little ass a drink when we're finished." Alfred nodded dumbly, severely hoping that his brother wouldn't pass on any of the conversation that he heard to the other residents. He didn't need to be known as the walking encyclopaedia of Arthur Kirkland's ass.

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><p><em>Characters:<em>  
><em>Alfred: 24, Intern (Neuro)<em>  
><em>Lovina: 24, Intern (Cardio)<em>  
><em>Kiku: 24, Intern (NA)_  
><em>Matthew: 26, Resident (General)<em>

_Here's a question for anyone following the story. I know this is only chapter three and we're just getting into things, but would you like to see some gossiping residents (Which would introduce more characters) or some more of Doctor Kirkland?  
>Alfred and Arthur will feature in every chapter in some shape or form, even just in passing.<em>


	4. Chapter 4

15th December 20X4

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><p>Lovina was not one to usually wear a smile. Perhaps that was one of the reasons she liked Doctor Kirkland so much, he seemed to have the same constantly angry expression that she had. It was like a sign or a symbol of their kindred spirits. Of course, the fact they both shared the same dedication to their area of expertise was also a contributing factor to her respect for him. Or hopeful area of expertise; She was only an intern after all, it wasn't as if she knew yet nearly enough to call herself a cardio expert, or even a surgeon of anything at all. Which was why she was lightly smiling as she made her way through the hospital, under the rather incorrect assumption that she may get to assist on the surgery Doctor Kirkland had so specifically requested her for.<p>

Doctor Hedevary had caught up with her and Alfred whilst they were checking one of their patients to inform her she'd been requested on Arthur's service – much to her delight and Alfred's frustration – and she'd hurried off right away. With the appropriate smug smirk to tease her infatuated friend of course.

The room she'd been summoned to was a floor below where she and Alfred had been, but even so it didn't take her long to get there. It was like any other single room in the hospital, with the exception that most single rooms didn't come with the usually so reserved and serious Doctor Kirkland perched on the edge of the patient's bed. Particularly not whilst having what appeared to be a friendly conversation with them.

"Ah, Doctor Vargas, you're finally here." Arthur looked away from the man in the bed; his usual, unimpressed expression replacing what Lovina could've sworn was a smile. "I take it Doctor Hedevary took her time finding you? I'd like to assume you wouldn't dawdle when you know I'm waiting to see you." He stood from the bed, gesturing for her to come further into the room so he could hand her the chart, however his grip remained firm on the cold plastic cover as she tried to take it from him. "Mr Wright here is one of my favourite patients," His voice remained the same, but his expression hardened further as he stared down at the considerably shorter doctor. "I will not be impressed if something goes wrong."

Lovina was about to nod, suitably intimidated by the English doctor, until the patient in the bed laughed. "You don't need to scare every single one of your staff. I've had a valve replacement before."

Richard Wright – as the chart in her hands told her the patient was – was an attractive man. From what she could tell he appeared to be in his late-thirties, but then again chronic heart diseases were sure to make a person look older. He had a light beard of stubble, though the darkness of his hair made it seem thicker than it probably was, and aside from the hospital gown and various wires connected to him, there was nothing particularly note-worthy about the man. If she could count out the fact that the way he smiled at her made her feel like she was the only person in the world.

"Let her be at least, Arthur."

She'd certainly heard Doctor Kirkland's first name before, but she was also certain she'd never actually heard anyone call him by it, definitely not a patient. The doctor usually seemed to hold such a degree of professionalism when talking to his patients, she hadn't seen anything much more than a polite smile from him. Perhaps a hand hold for the particularly scared ones or a hug he didn't initiate from thankful relatives, but never anything as familiar as sitting on the edge of someone's cot. So understandably she couldn't help giving Mr Wright (unintentionally) a rather weird look as she heard him address the English doctor as 'Arthur'; Weird enough to have never heard someone call him it, weirder still for the first person to be a patient.

"Excuse me, the doctors are talking." Arthur almost sounded playful, though the very thought of a word such as that being applied to the fearsome Doctor Kirkland grossed Lovina out far too much to really consider it. Her attention turned back to the doctor, startled as her eyes met his again with a cold glare. "I want you to study this chart and book the OR for tomorrow, until then I want all your attention to be on Mr Wright. He takes priority over all your patients," There was a groan and a laugh from behind Arthur. "Understood?" Lovina nodded, gaze flickering between the still smiling patient and Arthur's hard glare. "Good."

Arthur nodded too, turning back to Mr Wright with an accusing finger pointed in his direction. "And you behave. This is a hospital, you're supposed to get better here, not climb halfway up mountains and have heart attacks."

Again, Richard laughed, holding his hands up innocently as Arthur accused him. "I'll stop when you come see me outside of the hospital."

Doctor Kirkland only rolled his eyes, turning back to Lovina and starting to make his way out of the room. "I have to see to other patients, I expect you to keep me updated. -And keep an eye on him." He brushed past the Italian, leaving her with the chart and a patient who already looked like he was going to cause her trouble.

* * *

><p>Arthur sighed as he waited outside of the radiology department, back leant heavily against the wall beside the door as if he were attempting to hold it up. It wasn't as if he was bored particularly, only that he'd been on his feet all day and had hardly had a moment to himself. This quiet minute of waiting for his patient's scan results was almost like a long-awaited holiday. The doctors weren't usually too long, prompt with bringing him test results at least – but perhaps that was because he had yelled at one young radiologist once for being sloppy and none of them had made that mistake since. He sighed heavily, glancing down the corridor and jumping slightly when a voice called out to him from the other side.<p>

"Oh, Doctor Kirkland—" He straightened immediately, lazy expression becoming serious as he turned accusingly to face the person who had caught him so off guard. He was almost sorry for his over-reaction, though any embarrassment he felt was hidden deep down before the intern standing in front of him.

"Sorry, sir, I thought you heard me coming. I didn't realise you were waiting for results too." Alfred looked sheepish, hand rubbing the back of his neck. He hadn't meant to startle Arthur so, but he had to admit he was the tiniest bit glad; Arthur had managed to look just the slightest bit cute as he jumped.

Arthur's eyebrow raised in answer, expression a little cold as he looked up at the taller man. "_I'm _waiting for my results. As far as I can tell _you _only just turned up to pick up your labs, Jones." He didn't notice the way Alfred's smile brightened at hearing his own name leave Arthur's mouth, though of course he didn't know that the young doctor was so internally flattered and excited by the idea that Arthur had remembered his name.

"Oh, yeah, right." The intern nodded quickly, realising his mistake but not at all feeling embarrassed. He grinned as if it were a friendly conversation, quite oblivious to the silence that had settled between them as he was wrapped up in his own shiny world that consisted mostly of Arthur Kirkland. That was until he realised the other doctor was looking at him expectantly and he remembered he was really there to collect his results, not moon over the older man. He stepped around him after a slight hesitation to get his brain in gear, leaning over the counter to get someone's attention before asking for the results for his patient. "So, uh.." Alfred slowly turned back to the older doctor, determined to have a proper conversation with him outside of strictly work-related topics. "—Lovina's working with you today?" He wanted to kick himself for the stupidity of the question, which he'd only realised after he'd said it and received a slightly confused look from the English Surgeon.

That and the thought of Lovina reminded him of the conversation they'd had at lunch, suddenly making him thankful of the fact that Arthur was leant against the wall and he couldn't risk accidentally trailing his eyes down to his rear.

"…Doctor Vargas? Yes. She's interested in Cardio and I don't like uninterested trainees in my ORs, particularly on patients I've known a long time." Arthur looked away from the intern slowly, checking his pager for no real reason. "I take it you were working with her today? I heard her mention something about annoying another intern by moving to my work, I assumed that she meant she'd left you with a difficult patient to deal with alone?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah that sounds about right—" Alfred laughed, perfectly happy for Arthur to believe he just didn't want to deal with a patient on his own rather than understand that Lovina had really meant that he was jealous she got to spend the rest of her day with the cardio surgeon and he didn't. "He's, uh, he's really cranky and he makes fun of my hair." That was possibly the lamest answer Alfred could've come up with and he silently gestured his anger with himself whilst the other's back was turned to grab the lab results that had appeared on the counter.

"I can imagine that must be a trial." Arthur turned back after the labs were safely in his hands, slightly confused about the way Alfred suddenly straightened but not about to ask. "You shouldn't listen to cranky patients anyway; they're usually just bothered about the fact they're in a hospital or in pain or can't eat or something. Your hair is perfectly fine, don't change a thing." He offered a small smile, just a moment of a curve of his lips before he turned and walked away.

Alfred stood still, cheeks warm but not flushed and the smallest but happiest smile on his face as he watched Arthur walk away. He lifted a hand to his hair, aware it had been an unintentional compliment if a compliment at all, but Arthur had smiled at him and that alone was enough to sweep the young intern off his feet. He didn't care if everyone else just thought he liked Arthur's ass, they'd only tease him more if they knew he liked his smiles even better.

* * *

><p><em>Characters:<br>Alfred Jones, 24, Intern (Neuro)  
>Lovina Vargas, 24, Intern (Cardio)<br>Arthur Kirkland, 32, Attending (Head of Cardio)_

_You may have noticed the dates randomly appearing at the top of these stories, that's just to clarify what kind of order these chapters are happening in. (And I have no idea what year I should put, hence the 'X')._

_If you're wondering why Arthur seems so nonchalant around Alfred, it's because he only started working at King's Atlantic at the end of November and at this point his feelings for Alfred haven't developed, that's only in late January. So far he just knows he's a smart intern.  
>As for Richard, if you're curious, he's a made up character, you don't need to start speculating on what Hetalia character he is.<em>

_Anyhow, hope you liked it!_


	5. Chapter 5

_16th December 20X4_

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><p>"So wait, when you said he was hot do you mean like— Hot, or <em>hot <em>hot?"

Alfred had been like this for the past five minutes, standing far too close to his shorter colleague in the cafeteria line and interrupting her thoughts on what muffin to get. Alfred wasn't usually so distracted at lunchtime, mostly he just grabbed as much as was humanly possible to eat and went to grab their usual table. But not today. Today Lovina had mentioned a little thing to the other intern and now with Alfred's insistent and harshly whispered words practically on her neck, she was beginning to think that mentioning Mr Wright to Alfred was a mistake.

"Like…I could spread him on a cracker hot." She didn't need to look back to know Alfred's face and scrunched up in annoyance at her response, but she was fed up with his whining.

"Then- Then what do you mean by they were friendly? Were they friendly friendly, or _friendly _friendly?" Alfred was still insistent, voice tainted with worry as he followed Lovina to the table that Kiku was already occupying.  
>"Alfred, I swear to God if you use a word to describe itself one more time I'm gonna stab you with this fork and use you for suture practice."<p>

Alfred pouted but quietened down, poking at his food as he rested his chin on his fist. They were quiet for a minute, Lovina angrily eating her salad and Kiku quietly watching Alfred push grapes around his plate.

"But what if he—"  
>"<em>Alfred<em>, oh my god!"

From the other side of the cafeteria, Matthew laughed, nudging Ludwig with his leg to get him to stop staring at Alfred. "Dude, quit staring. I know he's weird but he'll know we're talking about him if he sees you looking."  
>Ludwig cleared his throat and looked down at his food, but couldn't keep from smiling. "Really? Sex-on-legs?"<br>Matthew laughed again, joined by the tinkling sound of Elizaveta's own. "Liz, he's your intern, don't you ever pick up on it?"  
>"Oh yeah," The Hungarian nodded enthusiastically, pointing her fork in the direction of the intern's table. "I knew before he did, but play dumb. Last week I caught him staring at Doctor Kirkland's ass while he was finding a chart, you should've seen the way Alfred jumped when I asked him what he was doing." They all laughed, though Elizaveta waved her hand to get them to stop. "No, no, that's not the best part, he started spluttering and dropped an IV bag. –And then he tried to tell me that he was just going through how to attach an IV properly in his head. Thing is I told him to get a new IV bag twenty minutes ago and his patient was on the floor above."<p>

They continued to laugh, Matthew at least trying to cover his mouth so that their joking wasn't so obvious. It wasn't as if Alfred could hear them anyway, he didn't know why he was worrying. Ludwig was the first to control his laughter, smoothing a hand over his hair with a deep sigh. "Poor guy, though. I doubt Doctor Kirkland even knows he exists."

Matthew waved him off, speaking around a mouthful of his sandwich. "He's an intern, he'd get into trouble if they were together anyway. Not serious trouble, but you remember the way people reacted when they found out interns and attendings were sleeping together; They were always accused of using them to get ahead."  
>"I don't know, Kirkland looks like he needs a good fuck."<p>

"Gilbert!" Elizaveta chastised the grinning resident as he sat down, sending him a glare along with his brother. Matthew on the other hand only laughed and shook his head, wiping his eyes of non-existent tears as they all budged up to accommodate Gilbert's tray. "What if he heard you say that?"  
>"Oh don't be like that, Liz, he never comes in here."<p>

"Who never comes in here?"

The residents froze, much to the amusement of the British doctor who had appeared behind Gilbert, though he maintained a frown and raised eyebrow. He hadn't heard much of their conversation, hardly anything at all in fact. It was only that since snippets of his name had recently reached his ears, and as he was already on his way through the cafeteria, he thought he should stop by and scare them like this.

"Uh—"  
>"Doctor Bonnefoy, it's hard to get a hold of him." Ludwig cut in smoothly, looking politely back at the attending. Matthew, Elizaveta and Gilbert on the other hand remained looking very uncomfortable and not to subtly avoiding looking Arthur in the eye.<p>

Arthur made a mental note to come into the cafeteria more often.

"You could try his office then instead of waiting for him to come to you, Doctor Beilschmidt. I can give you directions if any of you residents have forgotten the way to the chief's office – though I would hope you already know your way around the hospital – particularly a fifth-year like you, Doctor Beilschmidt." Arthur turned his gaze to the other German doctor, the repetition of the same name sounding no less scary to the residents as they knew precisely which of them he was addressing.

Gilbert cleared his throat, offering a weak smile that slowly became more confident as he lifted his gaze to Arthur's. "Yes, right. Of course."

There was a slight pause, all of the residents aside from Ludwig still appearing at least slightly uncomfortable – much to Arthur's amusement – until he finally decided he could let them be. "I have to talk to Doctor Vargas, excuse me." He wandered away from their table, instead heading across the room towards Lovina and her friends.

When Arthur was a safe enough distance away, the residents all let out a sigh, Gilbert in particular covering his face with his hands as he let out a groan.  
>"See, <em>this <em>is why you don't say things like that."  
>"Oh shut up, Liz." The German stuck out his tongue, only for them both to be shushed by Matthew.<br>"Guys, guys watch, he's going to talk to _Lovina _that means he's also going to be near Alfred." He gestured, though subtly and they all very quickly shut up to pay attention to the other side of the cafeteria.

"Uhm—"  
>"Just shut up Alfred."<br>"But I can't, if he's mooning over that guy—"  
>"Doctor Kirkland is not mooning over him, <em>you <em>are mooning over Doctor Kirkland!"  
>"Alfred—"<br>"I do not _moon_!"  
>"Oh you so <em>do moon<em>!"  
>"Guys—"<br>"Hey! Look, I have a very professional level of mild appreciation."  
>"Oh <em>professional<em>? _Bambino _if I caught you staring at my ass like that I'd never want to work with you aga—"  
>"Guys you need to-"<br>"_What, Kiku!" _Lovina and Alfred finally turned their attention to their interrupting friend, expressions already angry and obviously frustrated.

"Am I interrupting something?"

For the second time that hour, Arthur found himself in the pleasant position of making everyone at the table uncomfortable.

Lovina had straightened up immediately, looking up and doing her best to retain her composure under the - surprisingly mild for once - gaze of Doctor Kirkland. Alfred on the other hand had completely frozen, blood draining from his face as that familiar voice interrupted them – oh and he'd been dreading the image of that same man swooning over a patient he had absolutely no contact with.

"D-Doctor Kirkland." Lovina cleared her throat, mouth opening but no more sound following.

"Doctor Vargas." Arthur replied in greeting, an almost patronising tone lacing his words. His eyes flickered between her and Alfred, however, a slight frown forming at the incredibly tense way her friend was sitting. He hadn't heard the details of their conversation, but he'd gathered from the way they were speaking to one another that they were arguing. "…I was just coming over to check you've been keeping an eye on Mr Wright. His valve replacement is in a couple of hours and I haven't had any updates from you for a while."

"Oh, right, yes sir. Sorry, I've had a lot of other patients to see to today and I—"  
>"I don't care what your excuses are, Doctor Vargas, I just want to know the answers to my questions." Arthur's expression turned back to his usual disinterested one. Though he wasn't genuinely annoyed with the intern he wasn't going to give the security to let her think he wasn't.<br>"Sorry, uhm—His bloodwork came back normal, he should be fine for the operation." She was still a little flustered, though annoyed with herself for being so and tried her best to maintain that professional outlook. Which was rather hard when the English doctor looking down at her only seemed to be scrutinizing her every action.  
>"Good." Arthur nodded, seeming content with that brief explanation, though again his eyes flickered to Alfred, who still had not moved. "You're prepared for the operation?"<br>"Yes sir."  
>"Right. Well I have patients to see, I'll see you in the OR." With that, he turned to leave, though not without one or two more confused glances back at Lovina's table of course.<p>

After a few awkward moments of silence between the interns - the cafeteria was never going to be silent - Alfred finally moved his face into his hand and asked, "Is he gone?" voice quiet and strained.  
>"—Yes." Kiku said softly, though the word had barely left his lips before Alfred's head dropped onto the table with a resounding 'thud'.<p>

The residents across the room were in fits of laughter again, though now they were at least trying their best to hide it behind glasses or around bites of food, none of them managed to tear their eyes away from the slouched form of Alfred Jones.

"Poor guy." Gilbert muttered, having regained a little of his composure. "What do you think they were talking about when Kirkland got there?"  
>"Kirkland, probably." Ludwig muttered, much to the amusement of his peers. "You saw the way he jumped when he turned up."<br>"Doesn't he do that anyway? I think he does that anyway." Matthew interjected, though he was quickly shushed by Elizaveta, who was doing her best to look disapprovingly at the rest of the table.  
>"Shame on you. How do you think he'd feel if he knew we were talking about him like this?"<p>

There was a moment or so of silence, but soon enough all four of them had burst into laughter again. Perhaps Elizaveta was right, it was mean to gossip about Alfred in such a way, especially when he was such a sweet young man. But then again, it gave the rest of the hospital something to talk about over lunch.

* * *

><p><em>New Characters:<br>Ludwig Beilschmidt, 1st year resident, no particular affinity  
>Gilbert Beilschmidt, 5th year resident, Paediatrics <em>


	6. Chapter 6

_18th March 20X5_

* * *

><p>Arthur's life was organised. He woke up at five, he had a shower at ten past, and he got dressed at half past. Breakfast was at twenty to, teeth were brushed at five two, tea was put into a travel mug at six and he left the house at five past. He got to work at half past six, parked in his usual parking space (closest to the hospital door, four to the right) and got to his locker at twenty to seven. He changed and pulled his lab coat on by ten to and then he could go out to grab his charts and check up on his patients.<p>

The rest of the day was no less structured, though every day he had to change in accounting for surgeries and unexpected emergencies. On a normal day he could go to lunch at one and be finished by half past, but lately his much organised lifestyle had become…well, _dis_organised.

His lunchtimes became longer, his time charting too also became time for him to become distracted. He woke up sometimes still in a dreamy state, wandering slowly between all his usually strictly followed timings. It had become so that the prompt and prim Doctor Arthur Kirkland was _late._

And it was all Alfred Jones' fault.

He would deny it when asked, but so far no one had noticed. That was at least as long as Francis kept his stupid big mouth shut, but so far in their friendship Francis had never once betrayed a secret of his, and he hoped it would stay that way. It didn't of course change the fact that whenever the intern crossed his path, Arthur had found his thoughts wandering away from which procedure to use on his patient and towards ideas of how he could get that gorgeous smile of Alfred's to be directed at him. He could complain and claim to hate him internally for as long as he liked, but that couldn't change the fact that he was completely, despairingly smitten.

Which was a problem in his very organised life as he hadn't scheduled in time for daydreaming about younger men. Wait, no, _one _younger man – he couldn't stand the thought of being accused of being a _cougar_ (Which Francis just loved to do these days). He had space in his day for thinking about his treatment plans, practising valve replacements in his head, even the menial 'what shall I have for dinner' thoughts, he did not have room for working out what a reasonable excuse for putting Alfred on his service again was. Which was likely a good thing as Alfred was interested in neuro and, smart as he was, he really was not good with hearts and lungs.

But that didn't stop him trying. He found himself buttering his toast to the thought of a much more metaphorical buttering, which usually had him drop the knife very quickly when he realised what he was doing. He hated being distracted, loathed it. He was not supposed to get distracted, not at work, not in the mornings. Days off, after work, holidays were times to be distracted. But Arthur didn't even let himself think such things then. It was totally inappropriate in his opinion and besides, it wasn't as if there was any chance of something happening between them. So he resigned himself to denying his attraction and mentally kicking himself every time his thoughts wandered away to the happy little Alfred corner of his mind.

He hated it. He hated it because Alfred Jones was one unbelievably attractive, intelligent, funny, kind man who genuinely cared about his patients (which Arthur had discovered early on in February when he was assisting and very much felt his heart melt) and he was driving Arthur insane. It drove him insane because he interfered with his perfectly organised life and because he couldn't _have_ him. And he wanted him. And he realised with a wince that he'd admitted such a thing a little too clearly to Francis a week ago.

He blamed Lovina for his infatuation – because that was what it was, an infatuation. If she hadn't up and _decided _to be ill on the day he needed an intern he wouldn't have had to have Alfred bloody Jones hanging around him all day.

It had been the end of January, all that 'new year' excitement gone and the resolutions already broken, but Alfred Jones was still as bright as ever. Arthur had paged Lovina and when she didn't answer he went to find her resident, but despite still having all of her residents with her, Lovina was nowhere to be found. He'd asked and Doctor Hedevary had explained that Lovina was too sick to come in, so he scowled and thought for a moment before scanning over the other doctor's interns. He wouldn't have picked Alfred if he hadn't already known how smart the lad was, but Alfred was the only one he'd worked with before besides Lovina and he refused to teach a trainee today. He asked if it was a problem to take Alfred, which it wasn't and they wandered off together towards his patient's room.

Arthur of course had no idea of the snickering of the other interns or the smirk on Doctor Hedevary's face, but Alfred knew perfectly well.

They worked well together, surprisingly, but Arthur thought nothing of it all day. Not even when they were in the OR, despite Alfred impressing him rather a lot with his capabilities – for an intern. It was only after the operation, when they finished and went to clean off that it happened. Alfred pulled off his mask and he turned to Arthur with the widest grin, as if he'd just completed his own solo surgery, or the simple procedure that they'd done was some ground-breaking medical miracle. Arthur had never paid attention to Alfred's expressions, he hardly even paid attention to Lovina's, but that smile was so wide, so happy and just so _genuine_ that he couldn't help but be distracted by it. Then of course Alfred had to go and tell him how amazing he thought Doctor Kirkland had been in that OR and entirely sweep him off his feet.

It wasn't fair. He had been cornered in that little washing room, scrubbing up to his elbows as Alfred leant on the sink and smiled at him. Arthur hadn't been able to see it at the time – partly because he was deliberately avoiding looking at him at that point – but he could just feel the warm energy radiating off of Alfred and his mind surprised him with the sudden urge to kiss the young intern.

So Arthur had quickly thanked him and shooed Alfred off to do the chart as an excuse to be alone. He wanted to say that that little random thought bothering him was a fluke, something weird and silly that had just popped in because they'd spent all day together. But Arthur knew himself too well, and when Alfred's smile the next day made him look away to hide a blush he knew he was doomed.

Back then he had hoped it was just a small crush, that it would disappear in a few weeks. He hoped perhaps that it was purely sexual; Alfred was an attractive man after all. But he walked past the patient's room about a week later and saw Alfred chatting with them and asking questions about their wellbeing despite no longer being their doctor, and his mind had provided him with images of lying on sofas in Alfred's arms while he asked him about his day. That rather successfully assured him that the whole idea of it being purely sexual was purely bullshit.

So Arthur's very organised life had quickly become very full of pining for the young man that he certainly couldn't have. But he could've handled that. Maybe. He was handling it, he _was. _Even with butterflies in his stomach or dreamy thoughts when the intern walked past. Of course, 'was' quickly became the operative word.

It was very innocent; Arthur had just been running after the third 999 page he'd gotten. But when his pager beeped again he'd forgotten to look where he was going as he checked it and soon collided with a very firm and very warm chest. He hit shoulder first, his left side catching and twisting his body as he turned his head to see what had just happened, his feet tripped over themselves as they tried to slow down to a body that had already stopped: Causing him to fall. But unfortunately the thing he had bumped into was Alfred and unfortunately Alfred had very good reflexes, which unfortunately meant that Alfred got to catch him ballroom-style before he could hit the floor. Unfortunately.

It was like something out of a bloody film.

Arthur was staring up into those bright blue eyes, entirely unaware that Alfred was blushing just as heavily as he, because Alfred's arm was round his waist and on his back and his face was far _far _too close to Arthur's to let him think straight. His breath was already heavy from running and it wasn't hard to leap to the image that they'd just been kissing passionately. Particularly as when he'd fallen he'd made a grab for the nearest solid thing, so now his hands were on the back of Alfred's neck or clutching tightly to his scrub top. Time seemed to stand still; it felt like forever that they stood there, staring, breathing, _wishing_. But Alfred stood up quickly and righted Arthur, and they were very quick to mumble 'thank you's and 'your welcome's, allowing Arthur to dash off again with the annoyingly prominent thought of just how firm Alfred's chest had felt through his scrubs.

Oh yes, it was entirely Alfred Jones' fault.

* * *

><p><em>There's another one.<em>

_An insight into Arthur's feelings, since Alfred's feelings are so clear._


	7. Chapter 7

_24th March, 20X5_

* * *

><p>There had been considerable tension between Alfred and Arthur since the incident of a few days ago, likely because the considerably intimate touch had newly stirred up some sexual tension between them – but for the first time, they were the only ones who had noticed. Not each other's of course, neither had really realised it was a tension, they were only aware of the awkward way they avoided each other in corridors, or the charged silence in the chances they were both in a supply closet alone.<p>

Of course, it had resulted in one or two more incidents of minor touching, both trying to go the opposite way through a door, bumping shoulders while grabbing a chart – even the incident when they both grabbed for the same apple in the cafeteria (Alfred had insisted Arthur take it and he had quickly left the room). It would've been overlooked by anyone else, but to them each touch sent sparks across their skin, even through fabric. No one had picked up on it, all they saw was the usual sweet Alfred getting flustered around an attending he found attractive. Besides Francis of course, but he actually bothered to look at Arthur's face so he could see the way he too got flustered.

"I'm fine." Alfred sighed, fed up with being badgered by his friends.

Matthew had been doing his concerned half-frown for the past week. He'd even made Alfred's favourite kind of pancakes as if he was trying to cheer him up. He knew why of course, he'd become rather withdrawn and considerably less cheerful than he usually was, which was wont for his friends' concern. But he wouldn't explain that he was just in a rut over Arthur – they'd either make fun of him or finally tell him to get over it.

"You don't look fine, Alfred. We just thought something might be wrong." Kiku didn't frown often, but this concerned expression was clear now as he waited for Alfred to pull on his scrub top, which didn't take long.  
>"Well, there's nothing wrong, okay? I don't have to be Mr. Sunshine one hundred percent of the time, man. You should know that." He shrugged, but though his expression wasn't sad, it wasn't exactly encouraging.<p>

Kiku hummed, a slight face pulled at Alfred's back as he followed Alfred out of the interns' locker-room. They were a little late as Alfred had overslept and therefore come into the hospital with less time to prepare than usual – Kiku had been on time himself, but he felt the need to wait for his friend out of sympathy. All the interns for once were gathered in a wide corridor, supposedly to listen to someone talk. From one side, Lovina caught their eye and beckoned them over.

"Jones, Doctor Honda, how nice of you to join us."

A clear, harsh English accent cut easily through the quietness of the corridor, causing the group of interns to bite their lips in embarrassment for the two or grin at their misfortune. Alfred himself froze, slowly looking through the crowd to see Arthur's raised eyebrow directed at the two of them, his expression seeming to sour every time his eyes flickered to Alfred rather than Kiku and making his heart sink a little.

"Sorry sir." Kiku muttered, tugging Alfred's wrist to bring him over to Lovina.

"Well, now that everyone is here I can actually start briefing you. There's a large surgery going on today and many of our staff are required for it, which means that your residents might not be available to teach you today. Doctor Williams, Doctor Beilschmidt and Doctor Hedevary are occupied today, Doctor Beilschmidt's interns are to go with Doctor Kohler's interns and work with her, those of you ordinarily with Doctor Williams or Doctor Hedevary will be working with me. Be flattered, you've got an attending instead of a resident."

Far from excited (as Lovina was at the prospect of working with her mentor), Alfred felt his heart sink into his stomach, how was he supposed to work with Doctor Kirkland if he couldn't look him in the eye? If he got left alone with him he'd probably make a fool out of himself! It wasn't fair.

"The rest of you, you can go, attend to whatever it is that needs doing. You lot," Arthur gestured to the vague area where his interns were – he didn't actually know exactly who was working under him, but he had a list. "come with me."

* * *

><p>Arthur had been dreading this. He was told a couple of days beforehand so that he could organise himself, but knowing that he'd be working with Alfred was not exactly something he wanted to do. He was afraid of being too easily flustered if he was caught alone with him, or having another awkward incident with bumping shoulders or both grabbing the chart. He almost longed for the other times when he'd been much more heart sick over him, at least then images of Alfred were accompanied with a light sigh and not an uncomfortable frown. It wasn't as if they spoke often, but at least if they ran into each other before they could talk to each other like any other doctors in the hospital, now it was just a tense silence. (Where both were arguably thinking about kissing the other, but of course neither knew that).<p>

Arthur had shown his interns around a few patients already, assigning different pairs of them to each. It had gone quite smoothly, he'd quizzed them all on medical questions off the top of his head as they walked, picking on each of them individually and so far he was quite content that he actually had a capable group of young doctors.

He stopped outside of their next patient's room, eyeing them all carefully – though skating over Alfred – and setting a harder frown on his face as he addressed them again.

"I have treated this patient several times in the past, I expect you all to treat him with the utmost care. His surgery is scheduled for tomorrow, even if you're not assigned to him the intern that impresses me the most will scrub in with me. I don't want anything to go wrong with him, understand?" The interns all nodded. "Good."

He turned away again, opening the door and leading the interns in – surprisingly, with a smile. He went right over to the bed, smile turning disapproving at the grin he was given, even as he sat down on the edge of the patient's bed. "Richard, I thought I told you to stop coming back here."

"How can I resist when the Doctors they give me are so attractive?" Mr Wright winked, flashing his grin at the interns who had filed in at the door. (Much to Alfred's horror, particularly as he saw Arthur smile wider at the flirtation). "Doctor Vargas! Nice to see you again!"

Lovina waved a little, meekly when she caught the glaring eye of Doctor Kirkland.

"Stop being friendly, this is a hospital, I've told you that before. Doctor Vargas is here to learn, not be your friend." Arthur chastised, though it sounded far more warm than threatening.  
>"Sorry, it's just nice to see a familiar face."<br>"Right, well, Mr Wright here needs a heart transplant.."

"That's 'I could spread him on a cracker hot' guy?" Alfred hissed in Lovina's ear, expression a little too disgruntled. He couldn't help it though, Lovina had been right, he was attractive and he had a charming smile and a wonderful voice and nice hair and Alfred hated him instantly because Arthur had patted his thigh and that was far too friendly for his liking.  
>"Don't complain, it's not like you have any reason to be defensive." Lovina whispered back. Much as she was excited to see her patient again (He had been awfully nice after all), knowing she'd have to deal with a whole day of Alfred moping, particularly because he now knew exactly how charming and attractive Mr Wright was, didn't exactly fill her with glee.<p>

Alfred's expression soured, arms crossing defensively over his chest. He didn't like it, Arthur had smiled too openly at Richard and Alfred's mind had obviously set to constructing some kind of romantic relationship between the two. But Lovina was right, Alfred had absolutely no claim over Arthur Kirkland and Arthur himself seemed perfectly content in talking in a friendly way to the patient. Alfred deflated, looking at the floor with a frown as he tried to stop himself from getting so overly jealous.

"Jones, Doctor Vargas, I want you two to look after Mr Wright here." Arthur stood, searching for Lovina and Alfred in the crowd. He knew Alfred was intelligent, as awkward as things had been between them he trusted him more than the other interns to look after Richard properly. Lovina was a no-brainer, she knew the case well and she was a star for cardio, of course she was going to be assigned.

But again, as this excited Lovina, Alfred internally groaned. He had to work with Arthur all day and look after a patient who probably had more of a chance with the doctor than he did? Great. Just great.

"Alright, you're all dismissed, go and look after your patients." The interns shuffled out, besides of course Alfred and Lovina. Though while Lovina went right over to say hello properly and check Richard's vitals, Alfred childishly shuffled over to the end of the bed with the intent to pick up the chart and read through it.

However, having gained a little nerve, Arthur interrupted Alfred in the middle of his movement. "Jones?" He demanded, stepping over to him while he was still far enough from the bed. He was a little close, Arthur's quickening a little as Alfred drew his eyes up to meet his. He was so distracted for a moment that he didn't notice the way Alfred swallowed, the tension between them growing in the moment of silence he'd let fall – but he maintained a frown. "Is there a problem?"

"Excuse me—?" Alfred frowned too, though his was one of confusion, eyes flickering between the patient and Arthur.  
>"You seem a little less than eager to work." He raised an eyebrow, speaking in a lowered tone to avoid drawing too much attention. "Is there an issue with you working with Doctor Vargas or are you not happy to be on my service?"<br>"What- No! No I, I'm happy to be here—" Oddly, that perked Alfred up, back straightening and eyes widening as he hurried to insist that nothing was wrong. He didn't want Arthur to think he was difficult somehow. Even if this weird thing between them as caused some uncomfortable moments he was admittedly rather happy to be around Arthur some more.  
>"Because I can change you with another intern if you don't think you're up to it." Arthur's tone was unimpressed, partly because he was genuinely so and partly because he found it easy to keep up a harsh façade in place of allowing Alfred's sky blues to get the best of him.<br>"No! I, I'm sorry sir I'm happy to be here."  
>"Good. Because I picked you for this case for a reason, I know you're intelligent and I didn't want to pick a bad intern to take care of this, Jones. Don't disappoint me."<p>

With that, Arthur walked out, leaving Alfred to stare a little too long after him. He barely had time to register the compliment. Was Arthur expecting good things from him? Did he really think highly of him or was he just making that all up in his head? He asked himself these things quietly for a moment, watching Arthur's retreating form for as long as he was in sight and still string out of the door until Lovina pinched his arm.

"Ow!" He yelped, turning to frown at her and slap his hand over the assaulted arm. "What was that for?"  
>"Nothing." Lovina replied through gritted teeth, head jerking subtly to the patient, who was watching with unmasked interest.<p>

Alfred continued to frown, barely managing to not glare openly at Richard as he grabbed the chart off the end of the bed. But Richard wasn't exactly stupid and he easily noticed this, though he also had more grace than Alfred and kept whatever conclusions he had drawn about the intern to himself.

"There something wrong between you and Doctor Kirkland?" He asked instead, much to the surprise of Lovina and Alfred.

They shared a look, a source of vague amusement for Richard as Alfred bashfully looked back to the chart with a determined frown. Lovina on the other hand gave a generic shrug, peering over Alfred's shoulder at the chart. It was as obvious to Richard as it had been to anyone else, though he also had the sense to realise the way Arthur looked at Alfred – not to mention the fact he hadn't once heard him refer to the intern as 'doctor' despite addressing quite a few other interns as such. Which either meant that he hated him or that he was interested in him. Richard was no fool, he could easily see the sexual tension – whether or not they had seen it themselves. But Richard also liked playing games and Alfred seemed quite easy to wind up at the moment, so as the silence stretched out he decided to fill it himself.

"I would hope not, it would be really unfortunate if you upset him. I mean if you're doing my medical stuff then he won't want to come in here and I'll be very disappointed not seeing that ass as much all day."

Alfred tensed, not sure if he was bothered by the fact Richard was so openly admitting his attraction to Arthur (or so it seemed) or that he was blatantly objectifying him. The latter surprised him a little, but it didn't stop him from feeling the need to defend Arthur. He looked up surprisingly calmly, frown replaced with a more blank expression.

"Doctor Kirkland is a medical professional and lead surgeon on your case, I think you should talk about him with a little more respect." He stated, looking Richard in the eye as he handed Lovina the chart before marching out of the room.

Lovina stood quietly, shocked and confused by both her friend's actions and the following laughter from her patient.

"So he has a giant crush on Arthur?" Richard asked, grinning at Lovina.  
>"<em>Oh yeah<em>." She replied, a smile forming on her features as she realised the intent of his words.


	8. Chapter 8

_24th March 20X5_

* * *

><p>Alfred was glaring as he walked down the hall, leaving Lovina and their 'stupid patient' (as he had dubbed the man in his mind) alone as he moved towards the nurse's station. He had to do some charting, Richard was fine and he had Lovina looking after him anyway. He picked up a chart a little too roughly, causing the nurses in the immediate vicinity to jump, not that he was paying any attention. He frowned at the pages, grabbing a pen with the same ferocity to start making notes. Why did Richard have to be like that? It was one thing to say flirtatious things whilst Arthur was in the room, he didn't need to continue while he wasn't.<p>

Alfred was, of course, a little over-sensitive, though he didn't think he could be blamed, he just couldn't stand being in the same room as that guy; A guy who, in his opinion, probably had a much higher chance of actually getting with Arthur than he did. He was obviously also forgetting the certain taboo of doctors dating their patients, but he was tired and bothered and not entirely focused on what he was doing. He shook his head when he realised his thoughts had been wandering, sighing in a disgruntled manner before running a hand over his face.

He was being irrational. He was just over-tired and stressed. He didn't have any claim over Arthur, they weren't even friends, let alone an item – though this reminder made his face crumple up in a frown and he quickly discarded it. He looked back to the chart, realising now that a few nurses had been giving him weird looks.

"Alfred." Lovina's voice caught him off guard, causing the American to jump in slight fright as the sudden word startled him.

"Lovina—" He sighed, turning to face the smaller doctor only to be greeted with a glare.

"What the hell?" She hissed, pulling Alfred's arm to turn him away from the nurses. "That's a patient, you can't just pick and choose when you treat him."  
>"He was fine! We're waiting for blood results and he had you anyway, what are you complaining about?" He turned away again, expression bitter. He didn't appreciate being called out like that, especially by his friend, particularly when he'd just sorted through all the negative, angry emotions that were distracting him. She already knew how down he'd been that week, where did she get off calling him out for leaving a patient's room when she knew it annoyed him?<br>"You didn't even take a moment to check his vitals for yourself – and you snapped at him."  
>"You had that covered, I was reading the chart. But I did not snap, I was very careful not to." Though ironically those words were snapped, Alfred's irritation bleeding through into his words.<br>"That's not an excuse; Mr Wright could tell you were angry. I know you weren't bothered about his condition so it's not that big of a deal, but come on you're supposed to treat patients well." The Italian argued, not liking the way Alfred spoke. She paused, staring at Alfred for a long moment. The man remained silent, scribbling at the papers in his chart as if trying to block out whatever she was going to say next. However, her expression softened, glare disappearing. "—He was just teasing you, _bambino_. This thing you have about Doctor Kirkland, it's obvious."

Alfred paused at that, blinking once or twice as he processed those words. He was being made fun of? Was it not enough that he'd had a shitty week, now he had to deal with one of his best friends and some stuck-up patient laughing at him too? Whatever kind intention Lovina had in admitting the truth may well have not existed, it was downright insulting. "He what?" He turned sharply, facing Lovina with a returning glare. "Someone else is making fun of me and you blame me for acting up? Real nice, Lovina, _real_ nice."  
>Lovina frowned now, Alfred's irritation mirrored in her. "It's not my fault that you get jealous over the smallest thing."<br>"I am not jealous, what the hell is there to be jealous over anyway?" That in itself was a blatant lie, though it was surprising the conviction with which it was said.  
>"Oh don't pretend, <em>bambino. <em>You can't have him and you get upset when someone with a chance shows up." She snatched the chart he was holding from his hands, turning away to lean against the counter. "You really need to get over yourself."

Now that stung.

Even though the intern had attempted to hide the comment under her breath, their proximity made it almost impossible for Alfred to miss it. It was true of course, there was no denying that, but there was a difference between Alfred admitting it to himself and hearing his friend cast the same judgement over the situation. He hadn't really given such an impression to anyone, likely because he was afraid of the fact it would never happen but it wasn't as if he was just interested in Arthur physically. Maybe it started out like that, but he'd seen the man work, he'd seen Doctor Kirkland change from nasty and cold to reassuring and warm. He wanted more than just a quick shag in a closet to get his frustration out, he cared about the older man – but Lovina's comment had made it clear exactly why he wasn't willing to tell his friends that.

Alfred's expression hardened, glare turning cold now. "Is that what you think?" His and found itself on the counter beside Lovina's own, closing her in though the woman didn't flinch. "That I should 'get over myself'? That I'm not good enough for anything?"

"That's not what I said!" Lovina looked up, hands curling into fists.  
>"That's exactly what you said."<br>"I said you needed to get over yourself, I didn't say you're not good enough for anything!" She exclaimed, eyebrows knitting together furiously until she noted the way the nurses were tossing looks their way. She grabbed Alfred's arm, trying to move away from the desk again but he only wrenched the limb from her grasp. "—It's just the way you act about it! It's unprofessional." The Italian hissed, trying to be quiet despite her voice seething with irritation.

"Unprofessional?" Alfred scoffed, giving no regard to anyone who looked their way. "What's unprofessional here is your—" He felt his voice rising, ready to yell at the other intern full force only to catch sight of a doctor over Lovina's shoulder headed their way. The tension in his shoulders dropped, straightening away from her though his hands mirrored Lovina's at his sides. "Your attitude." He muttered, finally keeping himself quiet as Doctor Kirkland came to a stop beside them.

"Just what is going on here?" Arthur asked. He'd seen the pair from the other end of the corridor, though he hadn't heard any of their arguing he could hear the way Alfred's voice rose – and if not that then he could at least see the way the nurses were looking at them. It wasn't the first time he'd seen a disagreement between the two interns, but the way Alfred's face was set, well, it made him concerned.

Lovina straightened too, turning to face their senior with just as poorly concealed discontent as Alfred. "Nothing sir." She replied, avoiding meeting his eye. "We were just sorting out some charts. I'll be going to collect Mr Wright's test results now." She turned sharply on her heel, not willing to spend another moment in Alfred's presence.

Alfred's gaze remained averted, though for once he didn't fidget nervously as he had any other time he was left alone with Doctor Kirkland. Instead, his jaw was still set, eyes poorly masking his irritation and face turned obviously away from Arthur. The elder raised an eyebrow, not convinced by Lovina's answer and not happy at the prospect of two warring interns looking after one of his most important patients.

"Is it nothing, Jones?" He asked, internally surprised to find no embarrassment or fluster rushing through him when he spoke. Perhaps his concern for Alfred's wellbeing had overrun his discomfort.

"Yes sir." Alfred's tone was clipped, swallowing his fading irritation. He was well aware of Arthur's stare on him, so much so that he was almost entirely certain he could pinpoint the exact placement of his gaze. He wanted to just crumble, vent out all of his frustrations to Arthur. But for all he knew Arthur didn't care, Arthur didn't have time for him, and half of his frustration came from Arthur anyway so what would be the use in embarrassing himself like that? The thought made him bite his cheek, that same cold feeling that shot through his heart when Lovina spoke rushing through him again.

Arthur stepped forward, moving himself into Alfred's line of vision. "Are you sure?" There was a softness in his voice, the same tone Alfred only heard when Arthur spoke to those scared patients and for a moment Arthur could see all the anguish in Alfred's eyes. But it was gone again just as fast, covered as if by some mental forcefield Alfred wasn't willing to take down for Arthur yet.

"Positive. Excuse me, sir." Alfred cleared his throat, raising his head and brushing past Arthur to head down the corridor in the opposite direction of Lovina, leaving Arthur to stand still; confused and more concerned.

* * *

><p>Alfred hadn't technically been avoiding work, in fact he was doing work right at the moment; rearranging his locker to make things easier to access. Perhaps he'd been in Mr Wright's room as little as possible that day, perhaps he'd been sure to never be in there at the same time as Lovina, perhaps they'd skirted around each other and perhaps he was even spending his lunchtime in the intern's locker-room just to avoid talking to anyone. It wasn't as if he was hungry anyway.<p>

It was quiet in the room, save for the sound of his breathing and the back and forth shuffling of his feet as he sorted out his messy locker. He wasn't a messy person by nature, but things had become so hectic lately it was hard to keep things in order. He'd been expected to be left alone; certain Lovina would bitch about him and turn the others against him anyway. He hadn't expected that soft, accented voice to break the silence, though at this point he was surprised he hadn't.

"Jones." Arthur stepped into the room quietly, his face still hard as his expressions normally were, but there was something – gentle around the edges. He'd spotted Alfred through the window of the door; he'd only meant to walk past, but after the earlier business he found he was still in want of an explanation.

Alfred turned, holding a spare scrub top in his hands. "Doctor Kirkland…Are you looking for something?" He swallowed thickly. He'd calmed down at that point, no longer worked up over his argument with Lovina, but with his anger gone embarrassment could very easily take its place.

"No." Arthur said slowly, wandering further into the room. He glanced around, making sure there was no one else in the room, though he wasn't sure why he was worried by that prospect. "In fact I wasn't looking for you at all." Alfred wasn't sure what to make of that, a frown forming on his lips as he debated whether he should be confused or further concerned. But Arthur shook his head, lifting a hand to scratch his cheek as he found words. "This…argument between you and Lovina, is it serious?"

Those feelings of embarrassment spiked with fear, the sort of fear that came when one was afraid someone would find out something they shouldn't. "…I don't underst-"  
>"Answer the question, Jones."<br>Alfred swallowed, finding his eyes wandering around to his hands and the scrub top they held. "…Not exactly, sir."  
>"Are you sure?"<br>"Yes sir."

Arthur paused, watching the way Alfred held himself for a moment. He moved forward again, slowly, stopping once he was by Alfred's side. "I don't expect you to want to tell me anything, Jones, but that doesn't mean you have to pretend things between you and your friend are fine. You're not my intern so I don't know if you expect something touchy feely when things go wrong, but if there's an issue with you and Lovina working together at current I can move one of you." He tried to find Alfred's eyes, though that quickly proved to be futile, so he took found an averted gaze.

"It's not a problem, Doctor Kirkland, we have it under control." Alfred finally looked up, but only into his locker, very quickly folding up the shirt so he could put it away. He glanced Arthur's way and surprised even himself by flashing the older man with a smile. "We're professionals, we can sort it out soon."

"…Good." Arthur nodded, for once not that reassured by the flash of Alfred's pearly teeth. But the intern didn't seem quite as down as before and Arthur couldn't find a reason to keep prying for information when Alfred seemed to have swept himself out of whatever funk he was in. "I'd expect nothing less from you." He added, voice still quite soft, though what shocked Alfred was not that, nor the gentle emphasis Arthur put on the word 'you', but instead the surprise of a very small and very genuine smile on Arthur's lips. Aimed at him.

"Thank you, sir." Alfred said dumbly, after a moment's hesitation staring at the gentle expression on the man's face. If only he could kiss that beautiful smile.

"You're welcome, Jones." The Englishman nodded, smile still there as he too hesitated. But he turned away after a moment too long, walking determinedly back to the door, smile relaxing into his usual expression. Alfred watched him walk, very aware of his heart and the way it beat fast in his chest. Lovina could say what she wanted, he wasn't about to 'get over himself' anytime soon. Particularly as Arthur turned in the doorframe, leaning around to see the intern with a concerned frown now in place. "—Get some lunch, won't you?"

"Yes."

"Good."

There was one more flash of that smile and Arthur was gone, this time leaving Alfred standing still, the intern's face lit up with a small smile of his own.

* * *

><p><em>Sorry for the delay in this chapter, guys, life happens and all that. Hope you enjoyed.<em>


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